Petals & Poison
by Shrapnel893
Summary: The Village Hidden in the Mist has just appointed its new head, Mei Terumī, the Fifth Mizukage, not too long ago. Lady Tsunade sends two shinobi: her assistant Shizune and an ANBU Black Ops member, on a diplomatic mission of mutual agreement. Along the way, they will face issues of a still divided nation, their own feelings, and the mystery of the Akatsuki lurking in the shadows.
1. Assignment

**A / N: I've re-written this to be solely in Tsunade, Kinuye (OC), and Shizune's POVs. Hence, I've taken down the old chapters and will re-upload them with the changes. If case anyone who has followed this previously and is now scratching their head going "Huh?".**

**As for those of you just coming in, know that this story (besides what's already in the little blurb) is going to focus on those two, along with Haku's clan, the Yuki, and the Akatsuki, as well as the civil war in the Land of Water that was only sparsely mentioned in the story of Naruto. That's the plan, anyway.**

* * *

**I. Assignment**

Tsunade sighed, head in hands, annoyed at having to get up so early in the morning just for writing reports and looking at village statistics. Her eyes went from paper to paper scattered across her desk until they finally rested on the one she wanted. It was for a diplomatic mission to the Land of Water, and she sighed again, putting on her reading glasses even though she had no need to do so. Skimming it, she sighed for a third time and set it back down. Now looking at the two-man team assigned to the mission, she was going to miss not having to get up for tea.

Shizune, her personal assistant, waited patiently with her hands clasped in front of herself, ready as always. Right beside her was the ANBU Black Ops member that was to accompany her on the mission. Or, he was supposed to be. "Late..." she grumbled breathlessly, not upset over his tardiness since he was new, and for the fact that it gave her a chance to doze off…

Next to Shizune, literally coming out of her shadow, was a dark form that quickly materialized into a shrouded individual wearing a feline-style porcelain mask with blue stripes. He stood there for a moment before Shizune cleared her throat to get her attention. Tsunade jumped with a start and slammed her fist on the desk, then immediately calmed down upon realizing where she was and stood up, glaring at the ANBU member. A few extra winks would have been nice.

"Remove your shroud and mask, you won't be needing them for this mission. They'll draw too much attention."

The ANBU member obeyed and striped down to the ANBU's standard black outfit and overlaying gray flak. She shook her head and told him to switch out the ANBU attire for regular Konohagakure shinobi gear and after he melted back into the shadows, appearing mere moments later in the requested gear, she nodded her approval and leaned on one of many windowsills overlooking the village. A few more moments elapsed until she finally opened her mouth to speak again.

"The two of you will be the emissaries to Kirigakure to meet with its current Mizukage, the Fifth, Mei Terumī. This will be a mission of political importance, as the Fifth Mizukage has made strenuous attempts at reaching out to the other nations for support and mutual relations. I've decided it best to personally send two from the village to accept her offers in person. Obviously, that is why the two of you are here." She addressed her personal assistant first, "Shizune, you're in charge. I expect you to return with definitive results and a positive outcome," then shifted to the ANBU member, "and Iwao, you are her escort. You already know what is expected of you. Now," she sat back down and folded her arms over the desk, "the rest is up to the two of you."

"Yes, Fifth Hokage!" Both bowed deeply and left the room. Leading the way was Shizune.

Spinning in her chair, Tsunade stared up at the ceiling and tried her damndest to ignore the paperwork on her desk before she actually had to leave her stubbornness behind and start stamping.

**— º¡Ø¡º —**

Shizune chewed gently on her bottom lip, careful not to let her eyes wander to the dark haired man beside her. The ANBU reported directly to the Hokage, she was well aware of the fact, yet she'd never actually seen one who was actively on duty without their mask. It was a symbol in and of itself, and, before she knew it, she was studying his face. Dark blue eyes sunken underneath a strong brow, with a barely noticeable crooked nose, slight stubble, and a very faint scar that ran down his temple on the right side. Between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-seven, she guessed.

Slumping forward, she wished she were that young again. Yet, here she was, having hit thirty a few months prior, and already on her way to being considered middle-aged. A slight frowned formed on her lips and the expression made the ANBU member glance over.

"Something the matter?" he asked, his voice quiet yet clear as water.

The frown turned into a thin smile as she straightened, waving his potential worry away with a hand. "It's nothing, really, I'm just thinking about the mission." He nodded and she sighed to the side, her eyes on the village now. At least it was older than her.

As they came to the front entrance, the morning light catching the trees and casting soft shadows, the ANBU member looked at her again. His expression revealed nothing about what he was thinking about, but his eyes told a different story entirely. He was sizing her up the same as she'd done him. Not that there was much to look at.

His eyes travelled from her face to the standard-issue Konohagakure uniform she wore, lingering on her sleeves, which were extra-long to hide her ninja tool devices attached to her forearms and wrists, and then eventually went down to her lower body. Whereupon he proceeded to look down at his own person. To the forehead protector fastened around his neck, at its nicks, dents, and the engraving of Konohagakure's symbol etched into the metal. The Will of Fire.

She was the one to glance back over this time.

"Anything on your mind you'd like to share, Iwao...?" She couldn't recall his last name, though knew that Iwao probably wasn't even his real first name, and felt flustered, from unprofessional embarrassment.

His eyes were still on his forehead protector as he responded, "I'm fine, Lady Shizune." He tilted his head towards it, unfastening and refastening it onto his left shoulder and presenting it to her. "It's worn down..." Smiling now, he was about move his arm back to his side when she reached out.

Her fingers traced around the metal band. "Certainly, it's been through many things," she observed, suddenly jumping back upon noticing him tense up. A reflex in preparation for someone with a lethal hidden instrument. "Ah! I'm sorry, I just—!"

He relaxed immediately. "Don't worry over it, Lady Shizune." He rotated the shoulder and stretched his back muscles. "It's seen many things." He nodded at her. "And where, if I may ask, is yours? Do you not wear one?"

Shizune didn't meet his eyes, fiddling with her fingers. So that was why he sized her up before? "Ah, yes, I chose not to wear one, but if I'm required to then I always do. Is there a problem with that?" She saw him blink from the corner of her eye.

"No, not at all. Just curious..." His eyes wandered to the village gate's exit as they were approaching. "The mission, I will guard you with my life, you can count on that. This forehead protector, think of it as a symbol of my promise, my duty."

Shizune responded with a silent nod.

Lady Tsunade was counting on the two of them to complete this mission with the most desirable outcome possible, and, even if it cost her own life, she would carry it out to the letter. No slip-ups, no mistakes. As they passed through the gate, though, she couldn't help but again glance at her escort. His smile had held a certain sadness.

That had been the reason for her nearly inappropriate grasping on his arm, the inspecting of his forehead protector; she had wanted to reach out and encourage him, take that sadness away. Involuntarily, of course. Again, she realized she was staring and quickly turned to the side. Her rudeness was unacceptable and she didn't know what to say as they were now surrounded by nothing but trees and the chirping of birds. Their journey together was going to be a tedious one, she could feel it.

Thoughts wandering back to the Lady Tsunade then, she wondered how long it would take for her to start on her work and hoped it was before they made it to their next destination.

**— º¡Ø¡º —**

Leafing through old records because she felt like it, Tsunade navigated to Iwao's page and skimmed through it, groping for a cup of tea that wasn't there and frowning because of it. Sending him on this mission was the right decision, she knew that, but at the back of her mind she couldn't expel the creeping doubt that he would end up worse because of it, thinking of sending a team to shadow them, then closed his record and decided to wait it out and see. The boy was smart. She had faith in him to make the right decision, in the end.

Now, rapping her fingers on her desk, hand on cheek, she wondered what to do next and pulled out some old photos of Shizune back when they travelled together, chuckling to herself at the memories. She was such a dedicated, high spirited brat back then. And, now, that brat was all grown up. How time flew.

**— º¡Ø¡º —**

After a time of walking in silence together they came to a fork in the road. The sign had three places of destination: two small villages to the west, one larger town to the east. The way to Kirigakure was east.

"There's an inn a couple of miles past the town and we'll reach it before sundown if we keep this pace."

Receiving a nod of agreement, Shizune started down their chosen path, listening the sounds of their footsteps on the paved dirt path and keeping that expression of his far from her current state of mind. Looking at the trees all around, she couldn't rule out the possibility of an ambush once they arrived. From what she remembered, there was still strong opposition as to the Fifth Mizukage's methods. Remnants of the Fourth and other shady organizations. With a shake of her head, she slapped her cheeks and huffed. Now wasn't the time to be wondering about what was yet to come.

Her thoughts went back through the past two years. Most of all—Orochimaru and... the new one yet to fully reveal itself. All the information they had was the name. Akatsuki. Two of its members: Itachi Uchiha, formerly of Konohagakure, from where they'd just come, and Kisame Hoshigaki, formerly of Kirigakure, their destination. Hopefully, she'd be able to uncover more information, and, if not of the Akatsuki, then perhaps of Kisame Hoshigaki. Though, right now, her main duty was negotiating a beneficial agreement with the Fifth Mizukage, and solidifying an alliance between the two nations. Anything else was secondary. Her eyes wandered to Iwao.

His attention was on the path they were taking. Anything and everything. Alert and cautious, moving with fluidity and purpose. Why Lady Tsunade had chosen only him to accompany her, she must've had a definitive reason. "The town is up ahead," she stated, the entrance visible from a longer distance than she'd first thought. Too caught up in her musings to notice, she summarized. "Our best course of action is to go straight through. We can grab something hot once at the inn."

"And if something goes wrong while we're in the town?"

"If we can help it, ignore it."

"As you say."

Two guards greeted them as they came to the entrance, but didn't take any further action as they didn't need to. Once inside, the two travelling companions looked at the various shops and kiosks as they walked past people going about their daily business. Looking down one of the alleyways, Shizune caught sight of a female dog defending its young from a group of children. They were taunting and trying to coax the mother away, throwing small stones and waving sticks.

"A stray," Iwao said. His fist was clenched at his side, eyes glued on the scene.

Shizune could sense his urge to intervene, "Remember what—" There was a yelp as one of the children hit the mother on the side of the head and she furrowed her brow, "We aren't here to—!" The same child kicked the dazed animal. She stopped in her tracks. "Actually, nevermind." Stomping her way to the alleyway entrance, shouted, "Hey! You brats! Stop what you're doing and leave those dogs alone!" The children turned and ran, sticking out their tongues and shouting insults—the worst of all being old hag—and brow twitching, she slowly approached the female dog and her young. The mother growled, saliva dripping from her mouth, teeth bared, eyes hostile. Iwao stepped in front of her. "Stay back! I mean... please move aside, they're harmless."

Iwao obliged and she held out her hand once she got close enough. The mother was still weary, but after a moment conceded and bowed her head, coming forward to lick her saviour's palm. Crouching down, Shizune scratched her ears and eased her hands over her head injury. The dog whimpered in pain, but didn't recoil. Her young gathered around her as Shizune closed the wound with her medical ninjutsu and rubbed under her chin.

"Good girl..." Placing a hand on the dog's side, she healed the second injury as well. As a thank you, she received a few more licks on the hand. "All better." Standing up, she turned to Iwao and smiled warmly. The mother and her young scurried off, glancing back before disappearing deeper into the alley. "Ready to continue?"

As they made their way out of the town, Shizune watched him as he now walked in front of her. The way he'd reacted to the children's harassment, or no, the way he'd reacted to the female dog and her young. She looked at the hands. He must have them too, and, she felt that if only she could find what and where her companion's wounds were, and, if possible, heal them, as well, then he would be at his best for the mission. For, right now, even though he may not notice it himself, his pain was clouding his senses more that it should—especially for a member of ANBU—and she glanced back up, determined to set his broken heart straight.


	2. Coast

**II. Coast**

"Here's your tea."

"Thank you." Shizune took the tea in her hands and blew gently. Mucky green waves crashed against the white edges of the cup, drifting back when she lifted it to her mouth. Sweetness touching her tongue, she set it down and smiled. An image of Lady Tsunade in her office, alone, fingers rapping on her desk in boredom, came to her then. Without tea. Looking down at her own cup, she let a sigh escape and turned her attention to the drapings hanging by the entrance to the tea-house. They was blue. Standing right in front of it was her bodyguard, arms crossed and gaze on the road. "Are you sure you don't want any before we head out?" She frowned when he turned an eye towards her.

"Sorry, Lady Shizune, I'm not a tea drinker."

"Water, then?"

"I can acquire some later, right now I want to focus o—"

"One water please!" Shizune called out to the server.

The young woman bowed, hurrying off. She came back a moment later, glass in hand, and set it on the table. "Here you are, ma'am."

"Thank you, again." They smiled at one another and she turned back to Iwao. "Come over here and sit down, that's an order."

"Yes, Lady Shizune." Iwao materialized directly across from her, eyes going to the glass.

As the young woman let them be, Shizune closed her eyes, taking another sip of her tea. Waiting a moment more, she spoke up again. "Well? It's not going to disappear the longer you stare at it like that. Might as well drink it now, before it gets any less colder..."

"Sorry, Lady Shizune... I—"

Another sip. "And quit apologizing already. I told you that you didn't have to do that anymore, alright? Saying sorry to me is going to do nothing for you, especially over not drinking a glass of water." She took a fourth sip, one eye open.

"S—you're right," Iwao replied, taking the glass in hand. His fingers curled around it tightly, and, almost immediately, his expression softened. "What's the next course of action?"

"Drink."

It was gone in one swig. A few drops on his chin were absorbed a moment later, vanishing as if they were never there to begin with. "You said we'd be increasing our pace to the Land of Water yesterday. If so, then why are we just sitting here? Shouldn't our main concern be completing the mission in a timely manner as possible?"

"It still is. Sometimes, though, it's nice to rest and take in the surroundings. After we finish here, it's straight on without any stops." Handing her empty tea cup to the server, she waved a hand over the map she'd spread out on the table. Placing a finger on a spot near the edge of the Land of Fire's border, roughly a few leagues from the Land of Water, she began, "This is where we are, and," the finger slide towards her, now on a small island off the coast, "this the Land of Whirlpools. I was thinking of continuing along the coast, starting here. We can avoid any potential trouble that way. From there," her finger ran along the coast to the peninsula directly across from the Land of Water, "we go here. There is a port town there that will have boats." She waited for his eyes to scan the route then rolled the map back up and stuck it into one of her flak jacket's pouches. "At the very least, it'll take us two more days to get there, so you should enjoy yourself while you can."

"I understand." As she got up and stretched, his eyes went to the pouch where she'd put the map in. "And the reason you don't want to take any of the bridges is because they'll attract too much attention."

"No, I just like boat rides better than walking, when available." She saw him look away, a bit red in the cheeks. "Does that bother you?"

"N-no, Lady Shizune, it was just that I was staring too long."

"Staring...?" She looked down at her flak jacket, the pouch containing the map, and made a face.

"At the pouch."

"Oh, that." Shizune let out a nervous laugh, face turned away. "It's... alright..." Shaking her head free of floating thoughts, she thanked the server and man at the back and left the tea-house. Standing out in the middle of the road, she looked up at the sky. Dark grey clouds were all around. "It's going to rain soon, we need to get moving."

"Right away." Iwao was beside her then, and as they started their trek closer toward the coast, he focused his eyes back on her. "Lady Shizune, I'm truly—"

"Don't. Say. It." Her eyes were on the road, mouth contorted, and as she felt his eyes shift to the scenery, let out the air she'd been holding in her lungs. Her heart, it was racing again. She touched a sleeve concealed hand to her chest and sighed. Her thoughts drifted to what his past must have been like to be apologizing almost constantly as he must have lost everything, once, or something very precious to him. Someone.

Like she with her uncle.

Remembering all the time she'd spend at his grave marker, wishing him to come back with each tear that hit the nameplate. Wishing that he hadn't die so soon, so suddenly. And, yet, she clenched the hand into a fist and walked a bit faster. Dan hadn't died in vain, she'd been able to come to really know Lady Tsunade. Grateful couldn't begin to describe her feelings and, as she listened to sounds of his footsteps behind hers, she wanted with all her might to show him that no matter how that precious someone left the world, they still make it that much brighter through their past actions.

**— º¡Ø¡º —**

When the two of them finally made it to the coast, the island that was the Land of Whirlpools out in the distance, she took her flash from its pouch and checked the water. Unsuitable for drinking. She would have to re-fill them later, perhaps once they reached the fishing village further down, and looked over. His gaze was on the sea, and she followed it to the island. Decimated in the times of endless war many years prior. The Village Hidden Among the Whirling Tides, Uzushiogakure, was just a shell now.

Her eyes went from the island to the back of his flak jacket. At the red swirl stitched into the fabric, as was standard of all of Konohagakure's flak jackets. The Uzushiogakure crest. On his own attire, not only was the symbol on his flak jacket's back, but also his clothing underneath, on the shoulders. She called out to him, asking if he were alright.

"I'm fine."

Though, his gaze lingered on the island a moment more as she turned to continue along the coast again and they continued on. Keeping a steady pace, she thought of the look in his eyes, same as his smile, and frowned again, wondering what his circumstances must have been, and—no, now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things. No matter what his past may have been like, he was her ally through and through, there was no changing that fact. If she could cure his ailments, then maybe, perhaps, as she dared to take a glance back, she knew she couldn't let her potential feelings get in the way of the mission. Of her professionalism.

It was a long while until she finally spoke up again, head full of analytic deductions, "Do you know about the Land of Whirlpools and our alliance with them?"

"Konoha has always been close with them, and our trust was enough that we have their clan's crest stitched onto each and every one of our shinobi uniforms."

"Correct. Though, there's more to it than that." She looked back at the island, now a distance away. "The clans of shinobi that resided in Uzushio were all adept in the art of sealing jutsu, to the point where it wouldn't be wrong to call them masters of their trade. Some of them specialized in certain types, such as the sealing of objects or the sealing of chakra. Living things. Any and all kinds. Konoha lacked any of these specialties, so we sought to make them our allies. Which wasn't hard, considering the Senju were blood relatives of the Uzumaki. The Uzumaki being Uzushio's most prominent shinobi clan."

"And the reason Uzushio was destroyed was because of its mastery of sealing jutsu."

"Their sealing jutsu was seen as a threat to the other nations, and thus, it was annihilated nearly thirty-five... years ago..." She stopped then.

"Lady Shizune?"

"Fine," she rasped, and, quickly as it'd come, it was gone again. Back was the woman confident in her words and actions. Her duties. She continued, "As I was saying, the village and all of its people were annihilated, the survivors fleeing to other parts of the world in hiding. The same can be said for any of the former Mikukage's men. The most likely scenario is that we'll encounter a significant number of them in our time in the Land of Water, so I want you to be on your guard at all times—not that you never aren't."

"I will do my very best, you needn't worry."

"I'm not. We're here," she told him, looking at the cluster of shacks made of bamboo and straw.

Passing by the first few shacks, a strong aroma of cooked fish came to her, hanging from stands on either side of them, people out and about either checking them over or doing other daily tasks. She watched one man gut a fish, getting it ready to put on a fire. What looked to be his wife and three children were overseeing—the wife was tending to the fire, while the children were gathering twigs, leaves, and anything else that could be used to fuel its flame.

Further ahead was the dock, where an elderly fisherman was getting ready to tether his boat to a wooden pole and come ashore. She went back to the man and his family as they prepared to eat. The man slowly rotated the fish he'd gutted, stuck through with a stick, carefully making sure each side was thoroughly browned before taking them off and handing them to each of his children from youngest to oldest, then call out to the elder. As the elder mosied on over, there were enough left over for the man and his wife and then some. Tell Iwao to follow her, she approaching the man as he was taking the extras away from the heat of the fire. A bandanna around his arm, his face was round, body slightly pump, and when she made her presence known, he smiled at her with imperfect teeth

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but may I have two of your leftovers?" she indicated at herself and Iwao, "My... partner... and I, we're on a trip to the Land of Water and we haven't had anything to eat since we left our village."

The man quickly went from her to him and winked. "You two from Konoha, I take it? On a top-secret mission of grave importance?" His face lit up as he leaned back and took two of the leftover fish on sticks, and offered them. "Ah, well, it's none of my business anyhow. Here you are."

She took one and waved a hand at the elder's boat. "Is there any chance we may us have a ferry across?"

He snorted. "Aha! Yes, but only after having some dinner with rest of us! Stay awhile!"

As the man invited them over and spun around to introduce them to his family, Shizune whispered to Iwao, "Once we make it ashore, we shouldn't greet the Fifth Mizukage right away. There's no telling what we'll encounter once we arrive and I want to be prepared for anything. We'll ask around local villages, read postings—anything that could be of value to us. The more we gather, the better. In the meantime, let's enjoy ourselves here."

"I'll follow your lead, Lady Shizune."

As they were given a place to sit, she thought of what she'd told Iwao earlier. Of the loyalists scattered about the island. What she hadn't told him was the threat of something… darker… lurking behind them, in their shadow. There was no reason for her to keep this information from him, but, she also knew this threat was just her gut feeling and not based upon any hard evidence, thus until she found something, it was best to keep it to herself. Though, this gut feeling of hers, amidst the light crackle of the fire as night crept its way closer toward them, it was the same as back when Kisame and Itachi had infiltrated Konoha. The Akatsuki. Whatever they were, they obviously wasn't an organization that benefited the people.

Looking over then at Iwao as he nibbled on his fish, she thought of what Lady Tsunade had meant when she spoke of "already knowing what is expected of you"—if it was more than she herself had been tasked with. Something other than just a simple bodyguard. If his pain, and with it, his past, were connected to it. The more and more she thought about it, the more and more it seemed rather strange, but no, she could trust Lady Tsunade. There was no reason for her not to and she was fool for even having a smidgen of doubt.

Taking a bit of her own fish, she resolved to worry only about what awaited them in the Land of Water, and only worry once they'd set ashore. It was the only way for her to keep her peace of mind a little while longer, before whatever shadows that lurked in the underbelly of the island came out to greet them. It was the only way to keep her gut from wrenching and the doubts from crawling back into her mind.


End file.
